Composer Gabriela Ortiz joins Manny to talk about her grandfather’s surprising connection to Mahler, her own compositional process, and her enduring love for works by Debussy and Stravinsky. Listeners call in with tricky questions about folk music’s influence on classical works, new developments in orchestral instruments, and the realities of orchestra cliques. In our game segment, Manny puts Gabriela to the test—can she identify which famous composer was panned by critics?

Our theme song is Schumann’s Arabeske in C Major, Op. 18 performed by our host, Emanuel Ax.

Music used in today’s episode includes:

Symphony No. 5 in C-Sharp minor, IV. Adagietto
Mahler
Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Antoni Wit
Courtesy of Naxos of America, Inc.

Le Sacre du Printemps
Stravinsky
Brussels Philharmonic, Ali Rahbari
Courtesy of Naxos of America, Inc.

La Mer, L. 109, II. Jeux de vagues
Debussy
Brussels Philharmonic, Ali Rahbari
Courtesy of Naxos of America, Inc.

Miroirs, M. 43 Une barque sur l'océan
Ravel
Francois-joel Thiollier, piano
Courtesy of Naxos of America, Inc.

Estancia, Op. 8, Scene 5: Danza Final. Malambo
Alberto Ginastera
London Symphony Orchestra, Gisele Ben-Dor
Courtesy of Naxos of America, Inc.

Romanian Folk Dances
Bartok
Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
Live Recording

Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 36
Beethoven
Danish Chamber Orchestra, Ádám Fischer
Courtesy of Naxos of America, Inc.

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Credits

Classical Music Happy Hour is supported in part by the Robert and Mercedes Eichholz Foundation and by Linda Nelson.

Our production team includes Lauren Purcell-Joiner, Eileen Delahunty, Laura Boyman, Elizabeth Nonamaker, David Norville, Christine Herskovits, and Ed Yim.

Our engineering team includes George Wellington, Irene Trudel, and Chase Culpon.

Classical Music Happy Hour is produced by WQXR in partnership with Carnegie Hall.